Mayors demand action, not bickering, from Congress

America's mayors opened their annual conference Wednesday in Orlando by slamming the partisan gridlock in Washington and calling on Congress to reach across the aisle to keep federal dollars flowing to the nation's cities.

Members of theU.S. Conference of Mayorswho gathered at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando pushed Congress to spend on port infrastructure and transportation, technology and workforce training, particularly for returning veterans. City budgets depend, at least in part, on federal funds, but mayors stressed that spending on local projects also creates jobs.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, vice president of the USCM, said members of Congress need to stop bickering and focus on strengthening the economy.

"We need the Congress to step up to the plate and do the job they were elected to do: provide our cities with the necessary support to get our nation back on track," Nutter said. "We need them to do their jobs like we do, each and every day."

The mayors said Washington officials need to look no further than down the line at local government for examples of how to balance the budget, create jobs and talk across party lines. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who is hosting the conference, said mayors "share common solutions to common challenges."

"We're all challenged with providing jobs for our citizens and maintaining service levels," Dyer said.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who sits on the USCM's Defense Transition Task Force, worries about defense cuts that will be triggered in January if lawmakers don't agree by year's end on ways to reduce government debt by $1.2 trillion during a decade. The automatic cuts — which would amount to $55 billion a year through 2021 — could cause the loss of as many as 350,000 jobs.

Those jobs would come from the defense and aerospace industries, including Lockheed Martin in Orlando.

"Hundreds of thousands of our best jobs across the country, jobs in defense and aerospace, are at risk because of the inability of Republicans and Democrats to sit across a table and reach appropriate agreement," Stanton said.

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, also the chairman of the organization's Ports and Metro Exports Task Force, spoke of increasing port exports and developing port infrastructure to support job creation. He said private sectors "drive the engine" of local economies.

"You want to put people back to work and invest in infrastructure so that we can have good-paying jobs, the port is where the action is," Brown said.

Akron, Ohio, Mayor Don Plusquellic said local-government officials don't have a choice but to work together. Washington is disconnected from small government and everyday Americans, he said.

Scott Smith, mayor of Mesa, Ariz., and second vice president of the association, said the mayors' message has been consistent.

"If you want to see what a balanced budget looks like, look to cities. If you want to see where innovation and creation is happening, look to cities. If you want to see where true bipartisanship works to solve real problems and create real solutions, look to cities."

Nutter said Washington leaders need to create jobs by supporting small businesses. Congress also needs to support returning veterans looking for work and help develop highway infrastructure.